Only One Can Remain
by AmazingGraceless
Summary: The empress sits sadly at the foot of his throne. "Jaden, look who you've become. I love you, I truly do, but you're going down a path I can't follow. Your eyes, I used to love their blue, but now, they're the color of all the Jedi blood you've spilled." "I will come back for you Elle, and you will be my empress,come way or another." DSHM Jaden, Jaden x OC
1. Prologue: His Empress

There wasn't much for Aby Isolder to think about down in the dark cell of the palace on Coruscant. She knew that the attempt to assassinate the emperor would go badly, but she had to try. The Jedi had gone through a great purge on Korriban, and only a few were left who could possibly finish the job.

Raltharan's apprentice was in charge of helping slay the guards to the emperor's throne room, but she'd barely gotten that farm and her teammates had been killed, and she had been captured almost instantly.

Kyle Katarn, who had been heading the mission, had to call a retreat, with no one left to save Aby. She knew it was all for strategical reasons and had nothing to do with her personally, but it still made her wonder if she meant anything to her master or to the New Jedi Order with all the effort she made on their behalf and how she was left to rot. To put it simply, she felt utterly alone.

She picked at the hem of her tunic. She knew her execution was only a matter of time, and it weighed heavily on her mind. There was a heavy guard of reborn Force-sensitives outside her door, so escape was not an option. Aby knew the emperor meant to make an example of her, to warn any Force-sensitive who valued their life to not ally with the Jedi, and rather join his army of dark Jedi.

The door opened, and Aby looked up, expecting a squad of stormtroopers to be coming in to escort her to her death. Instead was a woman that society hadn't seen much of in years, even on the holonet.

Her fiery red hair was tied in a knot at the base of her neck, with a few wispy strands escaping it, framing her freckled, pale face. She wore a dark green gown of a silky material that brought out the green in her hazel eyes and contrasted nicely with her red hair, although it made her look even paler and made her freckles pop.

It was Empress Elle Ghilsiane-Korr, the empress consort. She hadn't been seen in over a decade, except on the occasional broadcastings at the palace. Even during those, she was silent, with a look of a gentle sadness in her eyes.

"I'd heard that the palace guard had captured a Jedi," she said in a soft voice, a bit raspy from lack of use.

"What do you want, Empress?" Aby demanded, raising her eyebrows. "Come to torture me for trying to kill your evil husband?"

Maybe it wasn't the smartest move on Aby's behalf, but honestly, she was completely done with doing the safe thing. She was here anyway, wasn't she? Safety was no longer an option. Than again, it no longer had been after the day she joined the Jedi.

The empress looked down to the ground, and sat on top of her knees, hands folded passively in her lap. Her eyes flicked back up to Aby's.

"I intend to do nothing of that sort," she assured her in that deceivingly short voice.

"Then what do you intend to do, Highness?" Aby sneered, already losing her patience with this woman who seemed to be letting herself be a punching bag, who wouldn't fight back, wouldn't scream or fly into a rage.

"I just wanted to see if the New Jedi Order was still alive," she said, her voice almost a whisper, tears beading up in her eyes.

"Why? So you could finish off the threat? So you could brainwash them into your slaves?" Aby demanded, pouring all her fury at this empire that she'd been building up for years into those words.

The empress raised her eyebrows, and a fire lit itself in her eyes. Now this was more of Aby's element, fire vs. fire.

"I'm not quite the monster you make me out to be," she said, her voice cold as ice. "I'm grateful the Order survives. They need to succeed in their task."

Aby shook her head, not sure of what she was hearing. "Why would you want your husband dead?"

"I was a girl who got swept into this mess," she said, a faraway look in her eyes. "I love Jaden, I truly do, but things went too far. I always will love him, but although a glimpse of the man I once loved is still there, he has been replaced by a monster."

"Why don't you do the job yourself?" Aby asked, cocking her head, sending her blond curls tumbling down the front of her tunic.

The empress gave off a bitter laugh. "Because I'm selfish, Aby," she explained, shaking her head sadly. "Because the part of me that loves him irrevocably still believes his inner light can resurface."

"How do you know my name?" Aby asked, caught off-guard.

"I'm the empress. I have access to all the information in the palace," she answered with a shrug.

"How did you get into all of this?" Aby asked. "What happened that made him go dark?"

"It all starts about eleven years ago, when I was taken to become a Jedi," the empress told her.

"You were a Jedi?" Aby couldn't remember any information ever indicating that the empress was Force-sensitive. Everyone knew that Emperor Korr was, but no one knew that his consort had any sort of Force abilities.

The empress gave a smile. "There are many things the public doesn't know about me. Like that I still carry the evidence at all times." She gestured down to her braided gold belt, and Aby did a double-take at the silver cylinder hanging off of it.

"Can you show me?" She asked eagerly.

The empress's smile widened, and some of the sadness in her eyes faded. She pulled the cylinder off, and activated her lightsaber, revealing with a _snap-hiss_ an emerald blade. Then, as soon as the empress knew that Aby had seen it, she deactivated it, and expertly re-clipped it onto her belt.

"Whoa, I had no idea.." Aby shook her head in disbelief.

"Let me tell you the tale of how Jaden Korr rose to power," Empress Elle began. "It begins with a ship from Coruscant, heading to Yavin IV. . ."


	2. An Unexpected Descent

I was seventeen then. I was ready to finally go to Yavin IV, after we'd picked up our last recruits on Coruscant, eager for the events to unfold. One of the Coruscant recruits was sitting right in front of me, and had been quiet, hadn't said a word the entire flight.

I folded my arms on top of the back of his seat, and leaned forwards.

"Hey there," I said.

He twisted around in his seat to look at me, a little surprised that anyone spoke to him.

"Um, hi," he replied. "Who are you?"

"Elle Ghilsiane at your service," I said, sticking out my right hand.

"Jaden Korr," he said, shaking it. "Where are you from?"

"Jakku," I told him. "You're from Coruscant, right?"

"Right," he said with a small smile. "I haven't heard of Jakku."

"Not many have," I said with a shrug. "It's right around Endor, a total desert planet."

"Sounds... Dry, there," he said, with a small shrug.

I laughed. "It was," I told him. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answered. "How about you?"

"Seventeen as well."

We stared at each other for a moment. "Well, this academy should be fun if all the other students are as nice as you," he said.

"Well, thanks," I replied, blushing a little.

"We'll be arriving at the academy in a few minutes!" The pilot called through the open door to the cockpit.

"That would be so great!" A boy about my age with spiky black hair who was stretched out at the far end of Jaden's row announced. He sat up a little straighter, and then came over to us, touching Jaden's shoulder, which startled him.

"Aren't you excited? We're going to be Jedi!" He cried, getting a bit close to Jaden, and pretty much yelling in my ear. "Learning the ways of the Force, building a lightsaber," he continued, sitting down next to Jaden. "Of course, you already have one," he said, acknowledging the little cylinder I had missed that was laying right next to Jaden. "Of course, I'll be having one of those stupid training sabers and-"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Jaden interrupted.

The boy looked down at his lap, embarrassed. "Oh, I can't help it. I just wanna make a good impression."

"You seem really nervous," I noticed.

"Aren't you?" He asked, scooting closer. "I mean, I know you have a lightsaber, so you're probably way ahead of me."

There was a silence.

"I'm Rosh, by the way," he finally added. "What's your name?"

"Jaden."

"Elle," I added, giving a tiny wave.

"Well, Jaden," Rosh said, ignoring me completely. "Where'd you get that lightsaber?"

"It's a long story," Jaden began. "You see, I found myself on-"

The ship tilted and there was screaming as the emergency light began blinking. Like idiots, Rosh and Jaden stood up as I slammed against the wall. The ship went quite fast, and everything flashed white. When I woke up, I was in a stream.

I started coughing, not knowing anything about water, being from Jakku.

"Elle!" Jaden ran over and pulled me out of the stream. "Good thing that wasn't too deep."

 _No kidding_ , I thought as I let out spluttering coughs. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said with a genuine smile.

"Jaden!" The pilot's voice came over via the comm link that was attached to his wrist.

"I'm here with Elle Ghilsiane," Jaden replied.

"We can't get to you," the pilot told us. "Meet us at the Massassi Temple."

"Jaden!" Rosh called, and we whipped over to see him. "There's a tree you could use your lightsaber on to help me get across."

Jaden sighed and looked over at me. "Ready to hike through the jungle?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Good point." We started to wade through the river (much to my embarrassment, it wasn't that deep). Finally, we came to the tree Rosh was talking about, and Jaden activated his lightsaber, with a blade that was a bluefish hue, much like his own eyes, and threw his it with the Force like a boomerang, effectively cutting down the tree.

Rosh crossed it carefully. We followed the path of the stream, when an ear-splitting sound came from the bank.

"Howlers!" Rosh cried, pulling out a gun. I was regretfully unarmed. The lizards came forward, and Rosh shot one and Jaden sliced through another one. We crossed through till we were in front of two rocks, which Rosh inexplicably pressed against.

"Jaden, Elle, get down!" He hissed, and he peeked over the rock. "There's stormtroopers in the clearing."

I peered over the rock. Indeed there were, right before Jaden pushed me down. "You've got red hair, you'll be easily spotted," he decided to inform me. I looked up at him with minor annoyance.

"Maybe you should go check it out," Rosh whispered, peeking again.

Jaden pointed at himself in a 'who-me?' way.

"You're the one with the lightsaber," Rosh reasoned. Jaden reluctantly marched into the clearing, where the stormtroopers opened fire. I was watching in horror, when Rosh hissed my name.

"I think I hear something. I'm going to go check it out," he said, and he ran off. I stared in annoyance, and looked back to see Jaden dueling a man with a red blade. A Sith, I thought immediately.

He quickly hit the man right through the chest, and looked back to see me staring.

"That's everybody," he announced. "Where'd Rosh go?"

"He needed to check something out," I explained as I came out into the clearing.

"That's great," he replied sarcastically.

"Should we go after him?" I asked.

"No, let him be an idiot," he decided, and we began going through brush and waded up to our knees in water to a large, hulking temple. We climbed up the side, and peered over. There were three figures, one wielding a staff, and there was a beam focused on the temple.

I stared, trying to figure out what was going on. "What?" I heard a female voice bark, and the beam passed over us. I instantly blacked out.

* * *

 **AN: Jakku was borrowed from plot leaks of Episode VII, so I got a bit creative.**


	3. Kyle Katarn

It all came back in a flash of light. Suddenly, I could see the light again, and I sat up quickly.

"Ugh, what happened?" Jaden groaned. I saw a man with a beard dressed in practical clothing with a leather shoulder pad and gloves kneel down, and offered a hand to help him sit up.

"Kyle Katarn, at your service. Welcome to a day in the life of a Jedi," he said.

"What happened?" I asked as I hugged my knees to my chest.

"I was hoping you two could tell us," Kyle said.

"Jaden! Elle!" Rosh suddenly ran over and got on his knees to be at eye-level with us. "I saw a flashing light, and we just found you here unconscious."

A blond in all black clothing marched over. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I saw three people, one of them was holding a scepter and it was glowing, and that's all I can remember," Jaden said.

"A scepter?" Rosh said. "That sounds bad."

 _Der_ , I thought dully.

"Can you stand?" Kyle asked, and he reached for Jaden, who stumbled when he let go, and I bristled at it. I got to my feet, (not that anyone cared), and dusted myself off.

"I sense a disturbance in the Force," the blond said solemnly to Kyle.

"You always sense a disturbance in the Force," Kyle retorted, and then sobered. "But I sense it too. It could just be residual dark side aura from this temple."

"Maybe. Kyle, why don't you-"

"Stay here and investigate? I'd love to," he replied. "Why don't you go take the kids back home now?"

"Be careful, Kyle. Everyone, follow me to the shuttle," the blond commanded.

Rosh stared after him. "I think that was Luke Skywalker," he told us.

"Huh," I replied with a shrug.

* * *

"I'd like to welcome all of our new students to the Jedi Academy," Luke announced as we all sat on the ground and listened to his lecture. "Here, we will train you in the ways of the Force. You will learn to defend yourself with a lightsaber. You will also study diplomacy, history, and more.

"It has been the practice of the Jedi to assign each student to a master. However, since there are still so few of us, we will be assigning multiple students to one master," Luke finished. We all stood up abruptly.

"Raltharan, you will be assigned to Master Horn," Luke began.

I looked over to Jaden and Rosh, not knowing when I'd be called on. "I hope you two get lucky," I told them.

"Same to you," Jaden replied. Rosh nodded.

"Rosh Penin," Luke announced, coming over to us. "You will be assigned to Kyle Katarn. Jaden Korr, Elle Ghilsiane, you will also work with Master Katarn." He continued off, and I looked over to my buddies.

"Yeah!" Rosh cried, and we all high-fived each other.

"We're going to train as Jedi together!" I cried. We made our way over to Master Katarn, who was talking with Luke.

". . . And there was nothing," Kyle was saying. "But the area around the temple felt strange, like its dark side aura was gone."

"Disturbing," Luke replied. "But let's talk about this later. Your students are ready to get started."

Kyle turned, noticing us, and Luke walked away.

"Master Katarn, it's an honor to be serving under you," Rosh said immediately.

"First off, call me Kyle," Katarn interrupted. "Titles make my skin crawl. Second, you're not 'serving' under anyone. I'm gonna teach and you're gonna learn. That's it."

"Oh, I-I'm sorry," Rosh said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Kyle laughed. "Don't worry, Rosh, you didn't. I've been offended by professionals." He became serious. "Now let's see what you kids can do." He led us out to an obstacle course.

"Alright, Jaden, I want you to go to that door. Elle, I want you to go to this one. Rosh, come with me," he ordered. I walked through the door that he'd gestured to, and placed a hand on the hilt of my training saber.

"These courses will help you familiarize with your basic Force powers," Kyle's voice explained from above. "As you continue into your training, you will get to choose which abilities you would like to study. Remember, no Force power is inherently good or evil."

I nodded, although that last part confused me.

"When you're ready, walk through the door to begin the course."

I walked in. It was a narrow corridor with the sky opened up. A training remote flew out of the wall. I quickly drew my training saber, revealing a green blade. I attempted to block the shots coming out of the training droid, and missed, dodging it. Another flew out, and both were shooting at me. I was on my toes, dancing between droid to droid, avoiding the fire, and clumsily attempting to block shots.

"Good job, Rosh," I heard Kyle say from above. A few moments later, he added, "You did good too, Jaden."

I narrowed my eyes and focused. I was done trying to reflect the bullets back. I charged at it, narrowly avoiding the blast, and sliced through one, and then through the other.

"You'll have to be a little quicker next time, Elle," Kyle told me as I walked through the door to the next area, where there was a wall. "You'll need to use the Force to get out of here."

I focused on connecting with the Force and sending out a Push. It sent the blocks blocking my path tumbling out of the way. I walked out onto a bridge over what looked like deep water (then again, what do I know of water? I'm from Jakku) and I gulped.

"You're going to have to use the Force to jump over this bridge. If not, I hope you don't mind getting wet," Kyle said with a chuckle.

I groaned, and my heart began to throw itself violently against my ribs. I had to make the jump. I couldn't afford to miss this. I just couldn't. I took a deep breath, and started running. Just as my feet kicked off of the bridge, I felt a boost, making me go higher and farther, landing safely on the other side.

I grinned, relieved, and continued on the path to a room with a locked door and a grate.

"The door has a lever that you can't reach inside of it," Kyle continued. "Look around carefully. If you're on a mission and need a key, look for the guy in charge."

I nodded, and looked around, my eyes instantly going to the grate. I attempted to pry the grate, but it wouldn't budge. I then tried to pull the lever, using the Force. Almost there. Finally, I got it, and the door raised.

I got back on my feet and continued outside, onto a bridge that parallel the one that Rosh was on, over a courtyard where Jaden had just entered.

Rosh stopped at a control panel as I deactivated my training saber, not foreseeing any reason to use it at the moment.

"Hey, Jaden!" Rosh called down. "This should keep you busy until I finish the course!" He then ran off. I heard a clanking, and looked down in horror to see a lightsaber-wielding robot coming for Jaden, and I didn't think twice.

I jumped, activating the training saber mid-jump, and landed hard enough to make me stumble, but I kept running to where Jaden was sparring with it. He was doing fine, but I figured I might as well have ended it then and there. I tried to stab through, but all it did was just burn some of it. It wasn't going to do any actual damage.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ Jaden finished it off, and looked over at me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

"I'm fine. Except now I have an urge to punch Rosh."

I chuckled. "Well, I'm going to go finish my part of the course, if you don't mind." He nodded, and gave a little flourish. I laughed, and used the Force to jump back up to my path. It was becoming more and more natural to augment my physical abilities using the Force.

I ran into the next room.

"Solutions aren't always obvious," Kyle announced. "You'll need to figure a way out of the room."

I looked around. Nothing popped out at me. I closed my eyes, and concentrated. When I opened my eyes, I could see symbols that hadn't been there before. I pulled those blocks out of the wall, and began jumping onto them, onto the walkway. I turned through the maze, guided by the Force, and came out to an open area.

"You're going to have to go fast to get through this area," Kyle warned me, and I looked around. I saw the doors starting to close, and I ran, although they seemed to be going too fast. Then it was like everything slowed down around me, and I still barely dived under the door. I sprang to my feet, the illusion gone. I walked over to where Rosh and Jaden were running to Kyle, Rosh being a few seconds ahead.

"Did I win?" Rosh asked.

"It wasn't a competition," Kyle said.

"Oh, I-"

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," he interrupted. "What were you thinking? If that droid was set to Luke's training regimen, it would've killed Jaden."

"Oh, Jaden I-"

"Save it, Rosh. You yourself said this wasn't a competition," Jaden snapped, turning away from Rosh, looking down at the ground and crossing his arms over his chest.

"It was just a joke!" Rosh protested.

I raised my eyebrows. "What was the punch line? Haha, you're dead?"

Kyle gave me a look to let it go, and I glanced down at my boots, and folded my hands behind my back.

"Jaden, you have every right to be angry, but believe me, you don't want to feed that feeling," Kyle warned.

Jaden sighed and straightened. "Apology accepted, Rosh."

"Good. I think you're ready to put your skills to use in the real world," Kyle continued. Suddenly, Luke burst out of the Praexum.

"I've identified the symbol found on that piece of clothing you discovered at the temple," he told Kyle. "It is the symbol of Marka Ragnos, a Sith who wreaked terror five-thousand years ago. While you're out on missions, keep a lookout for a group affiliated with Ragnos."

He then walked away.

"Alright then, Elle, Rosh, I'm going to take you to make your lightsabers. We can't have you running around with only training sabers, now can we?"

Rosh and I nodded obediently.

* * *

It was after I had created my green saber that I became a Jedi Padawan.


	4. Mission to Blenjiel

I won't go into the details about the missions that I went on without Jaden. Not that there were very many. I stayed at the Academy a lot, since Kyle had to work with three different apprentices, and I'd barely gotten used to everything. I mostly worked on my studies of diplomacy and history, and the Force, among other things.

"Ah, Jaden, Elle, perfect," Kyle said, approaching both of us in the morning in the canteen. "We have a mission to Blenjiel. It's an uninhabited planet, and we had distress call from merchants who crash-landed on there. I have a mission I need to take Rosh on, so I'd like you two to team up."

I glanced over at Jaden. "I think we can handle it, can't we, Korr?"

"Yeah, we can handle it," he added.

"Good," Kyle said. "You can use one of our shuttles to retrieve them." He turned and walked away.

"So, this is your third mission, right?" Jaden asked me as we walked down the hall to our transport.

"Yeah," I said, on my guard.

"Wow, how many of them have been solo?" He asked.

"None of them. Why, have you gone on a solo mission already?" I asked.

"Technically, at Bakura, I was supposed to have Kyle with me, but since he was running late, I had to handle it by myself," he said with a bit of pride.

"I haven't done much," I admitted bitterly. "I've mostly focused on studying. No one exactly has the time for me."

"That's sad," he said. "Well, hopefully this will be good experience. I'm nervous."

"You don't need to be," I told him honestly. "Everyone in the Praexeum has been talking about you, and how you've worked twice on Tatooine and once on Bakura, always successful."

He shrugged. "Most of that was luck."

My blood boiled at his modesty. Did he have to be like that all the time?

"Is something wrong? You look. . .angry," he said.

I shook my head, to clear it and to answer. "I'm fine." The words came out a little harsher than I intended, and the silence between us became awkward.

We got on the cargo transport, and talked as little as possible on the way there.

* * *

"Wake up!" I called in the back. "We're about to land on Benjiel."

Nothing. I groaned, and got up to go back for five seconds into the cabin part of the transport. I looked at the lowest bunk, and saw him sleeping there. I watched for a moment. He looked so innocent, hugging the pillow like that and. . .

 _Remember your duty,_ I reminded myself, and I shook him. "Jaden! Wake up!"

His eyes snapped open, and he looked around, paranoia-filled for a moment, and then sat up.

"Thanks," he muttered as we walked up to the cockpit. I sat down and started to steer when Jaden began overriding my controls.

"I've got this," he assured me. I sighed, annoyed. What couldn't Jaden Korr do?

We began to descend when our tail shook, and I could tell that lightning had hit it. "Pull up! Pull up!" I yelled.

"I'm working on it!" He yelled back.

"Well, work a little faster!" I shouted. We were loosing altitude quickly. I buckled up for a crash, and we skidded right next to the wreck of the merchant ship. After I was sure that we had stopped, I slammed my head against my folded arms.

"I landed?" He said.

I regained control of my breathing, and I looked back up at him.

"Next time, let me handle it," I told him, and I unbuckled my seatbelt, and looked over to the back, where the mechanics were all located that got hit.

"Let's see what got damaged back here," I said. I checked through. "We've lost a power converter, an energy cell for the cooling unit, a power coupling for the inertial compensator, and a dampener."

Jaden chuckled. "I have no idea what you just said."

I smirked, a part of me taking satisfaction in that I knew something that the Great Jaden Korr didn't.

"Nice work, Jaden. Some rescue mission," I muttered as I began removing the damaged parts.

"What was that?" Jaden asked.

"Nothing!" I called, as I pulled the useless parts out of the ship's wiring.

"We should probably go check for survivors before we do anything," Jaden suggested.

 _Stupid, noble boy!_ I thought angrily. I threw down my tool a bit harder than usual.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I snapped, and before he could press me further, I stormed out the transport, and onto a rock overlooking the merchant crash.

"Hello?" I called as loudly as I could. "Hellooo?"

I heard Jaden jump right beside me. "HELLO?"

I then saw a man crawl out of the wreckage. "By the Force, thank goodness you're hear! This place is-"

He was interrupted by a trembling in the ground, and a sand-crawler came out, and ate the guy.

"What was that?" Jaden asked, clearly horrified.

"Forgot you were a city kid," I remarked. "It's a sand-crawler, Korr. We dealt with them all the time on Jakku."

"You used to call me Jaden," he lamented.

"Is this really the time for this?" I asked as I began climbing parts to find something in the wreckage that could replace what we had.

"Yes, it is," he insisted, growing defensive. "You've been uptight the entire mission, and argumentative."

"Well I'm sorry if I'm too aggressive for the noble pacifist Jedi," I snapped.

"Elle, what are you talking about?" He asked, sounding frustrated. "I'm just as aggressive as the next person, but that's not entirely the same as being rude and plain out mean every time you talk to me. What's going on?"

I glared at him. "You're so perfect, Jaden! You're the master swordsman, the one who's strong in the Force, who can pilot a ship, who is Kyle's favorite student, who's always getting to go on the important missions and can be trusted to be alone." I then turned to run across the sand to get a power cell I saw, when his hand closed around my arm.

I whipped around, and before I could speak, he did.

"You really think I'm perfect?" There was disbelief and anger in that tone. "I wish I was, Elle. I'm impatient, I let my anger get the best of me, and I'm not as smart as you or as strong in the Force."

"I'm not any of the things you named," I replied, shaking my head. "You and Rosh are much stronger-"

"What in the Nine Corellian Hells makes you say that?" He asked.

"The fact that you two are taken on missions more often, that you guys completed the course before me-"

"Maybe initially. But you've spent all that time in the academy, working on Force training. Some say you're the next Kyp Durron," he said.

"I have no plans to blow up a star system, though," I joked.

He relaxed somewhat. "Elle, we all have flaws. None of us are perfect, as hard as we all try."

"I'm sorry. I just got jealous," I admitted.

He shrugged. "I guess we all should've seen that coming. Kriff, I think Rosh is jealous too, for some of the same reasons you mentioned."

"I was wondering if the great Jaden Korr understood the feelings of us mere mortals," I teased.

"Oh, I do," he replied.

"Alright, I need you to do something for me," I said, switching gears. "Throw a grenade over there."

"Um, why?" He asked.

"It's a trick we learned on Jakku." I then waited as he fumbled with the grenade, and rolled it to the sand. I then ran for a rock I saw, using the Force to augment my speed. I jumped up the rocks, and onto the ground, and picked up the power cell.

I could hear Jaden yelling, but couldn't make out the words, but the context was enough for me to run faster than I'd ever run in my life. I jumped onto the piece of machinery he was standing on, and fell into his arms.

I awkwardly straightened.

"Be careful there," he warned, looking suddenly oh-so-shy.

"Thanks," I said, and I started back to the ship to replace the power cell. After that, I scouted out, and saw the dampener I needed. I started to dart out, and swiped it up. I then felt someone pull me to the side, and throw a grenade.

"That was close," he murmured once we were on the rocks. I surveyed the area.

"We're going to have to jump and run as fast as we can."

He looked at me, wide-eyed, but the rocks were sinking into the sand. I took his hand, and I jumped, taking off with the Force. We then ran onto the burned sand that the sand-crawlers couldn't come through.

Right behind us, one roared in frustration of missing the meal that was us. I looked over to Jaden, who was panting, his hands on his knees.

"Thanks, Elle."

I smiled, feeling my face soften. "No problem, Jaden." With that, I navigated back to the ship to drop the part off. I then continued back into the main wreck of the ship, where we found a power converter in the floorboards of the bridge. It took both of us to carry it back.

We then hopped out to some debris outside the ship, and I saw some rocks in the distance.

"Hey, wish me luck," he said, and then he took off after the power-coupler.

"You idiot!" I cried out, he wasn't even using Force speed.

He finally sped up, and dived onto the rock, right before tossing a grenade, and managed to get the power-coupler. As he started taking a course on the rocks near the ship, I took the course it took me to get there, and I met him inside the ship. I started working on the wiring and putting the parts in place, and fixing what I could. I kept the old parts on in case they had micro parts I might have needed later on.

"Is it going to hold together?" He asked as I slid out of a metal compartment. I grinned.

"Relax, Jade, it'll fly just fine. Maybe even better than before," I assured him as I screwed the compartment back in place and got out, into the cockpit. "Now let's get off this planet. I've had enough desert in my lifetime."

We finally took off, and began the journey back.

Ever since then, Jaden and I were the best of friends.


	5. Losing Friends

We were hanging around in the Praxeum, when Rosh was talking to another student, Eli Clarke.

"I haven't been doing much on our missions," Rosh had confessed. "Kyle always leaves me with the easy, boring stuff."

"Maybe he's just testing you," Eli suggested. "Y'know, seeing how you do it and such. My master has been doing the same. I wouldn't worry about it."

Rosh nodded, almost absent-mindedly, but there were shadows in his face when he looked back up at Eli. "Do you ever wonder if your master is holding you back? Making sure you don't become too powerful?"

That's when Jaden wandered onto the scene. He was about to talk, when Kyle burst into the break room.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked mostly Rosh and Jaden. Eli wisely kept his mouth shut, and I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, which wasn't much because of my red hair.

"No," Jaden and Rosh chorused.

"Good. I have more missions for both of you," Kyle told him. I looked over in his direction, but he was already leaving.

 _Kriff you, Kyle._

* * *

"We have discovered that someone sliced into my personal records and have taken several files on places where I sensed the Force in particularly strong areas," Luke announced. "Places like Cloud City, Endor-"

"What will that give anybody other than a tour?" Rosh blurted out.

"I don't know, but we need to act, just in case," he continued, not showing any irritation. He started going around, giving out assignments.

"Jaden, I need you to go to Hoth. It's where I spotted a vision of Ben Kenobi," he said. "Rosh, I need you to go to Byss. Be careful, the Remnant is still around there, but it should be inactive."

I held my breath, waiting for my assignment.

"Elle, you're needed at Corellia. We know the Disciples have been spotted close to there, so be careful," he warned me.

I nodded. "I will be, Master Skywalker."

* * *

I came back from my mission relatively unscathed as Kyle and Jaden were talking to Luke.

"Rosh and Elle-"

"Hello!" I called out, and everyone stared at me. Yeah, I was covered in gasoline and dirt, but I was just fine.

"Well, what's the report?" Luke asked.

"I couldn't sense anything there," I answered. "I think the Force was drained."

"Interesting." He looked back to Kyle and Jaden. "As I was saying, Rosh has not returned."

"That doesn't sound good," I said.

"I know a few contacts who can get me on Byss. I'll see what I can find," Kyle promised.

"What can I do to help?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah, Rosh is our friend too!" I added.

"We need you two to stay here and finish your training," Kyle said.

"Yes, we don't want to neglect the training of two of our most promising students," Luke said.

That caught Mr. Perfect off-guard.

"P-Promising?"

Kyle and Luke shared a smile. We started to leave, when Kyle stopped us quickly.

"Elle, you've done a good job balancing your powers," he assured me. He looked over to Jaden, and his expression grew more grave. "Jaden, be careful. I sense a lot of anger in you, and darkness."

Jaden nodded seriously, before we walked off, wishing our best to Kyle.

"What was that about?" I asked.

He looked around, a bit paranoid.

"Come with me," he said, and he took my arm, clutching it tightly. I kept up with the rapid pace. He pulled me out a side door into the jungle of Yavin IV. We went a little ways in, until we were at the burned-out wreck of the shuttle that had taken us to the planet.

We sat by the stream.

"I had parents that worked in the Empire," he explained. "They were Inquisitors for the Emperor. All except for my uncle, who wasn't Force-sensitive for some reason."

"So they were dark-side users," I said, staring at him, although he was looking at the stream.

"That, and what I'm able to do. . ." He trailed off.

"What?" I asked.

He finally met my eyes. "I can summon green lightning, okay?"

I felt my eyes widen. "Lightning?"

He nodded, clutching a rock tightly.

"Why didn't you just say something?" I asked, smiling. "You could've just said, hey, I've got some dark-side history and I can make lightning. You had me scared with all this secrecy."

A smile spread across his face as he threw the rock, making it skip three times. "I guess you're right," he said, and he sounded relieved. "Just, everyone's worried about me and what it means."

"Well, I believe in you," I assured him. "You're still Mr. Perfect to me."

"I'm not Mr. Perfect," he said, growing serious again. "I want to be just me. Jaden Korr."

"Just Jaden Korr," I mused, now looking out to the stream as well. "Well, we'll give it a shot, Just Jaden."

"I guess we'd better get back to the Academy," he admitted. He offered a hand up. I only hesitated for a second before accepting.


	6. The Courtship of Jaden Korr

Our Jedi studies advanced, and I wasn't spending quite as much time with him. After all, he was the most promising student of the Academy. I went on a few missions, and was proving to be more capable than anyone before ever thought.

Most of my missions were solo because Kyle was busy searching for Rosh. I caught wind of one where Jaden had gone in approximately a week ago. I was beginning to get a little worried. According to the databanks that Master Skywalker's protocol droid, he was supposed to check out activity for the Cult of Ragnos.

"I'm going after him," I decided.

"You shouldn't," a Padwan friend of mine, Kira Rey, had said. "It wasn't assigned to you."

"Well someone's gotta go looking for him," I decided. I walked out to the hangar. I jumped in my ship, the _Jakku Rain_ , and took off for the planet he had accepted a mission to, Dosuun.

It was a planet where they had suspected Ragnos operations, but wanted to keep it hush hush, which was sort of stupid in my opinion. But what did I know, being a Jedi child?

I landed far from the facility that Jaden had been told to check since I had my suspicions. I began a day's journey to the facility on foot, even with the Force aiding me in jumping up the ravine.

The next morning, I heard crackling of electricity and several yells. I grabbed my lightsaber and activated it as Imperial officials were running down the ravine to escape something-or someone, I noted with a little fear trickling down my spine.

I forced myself to run towards the sounds. I saw a hangar-type building and dropped in from the ceiling, and snuck in a specific door, careful not to make a sound as I climbed into the rafters. A pudgy man was holding Jaden's lightsaber and a gun that I knew Jaden had borrowed from the Praxeum's armory and my heart went to my throat.

I heard another yell of someone dying because of electrocution, and I snaked my way through the rafters, hoping to get rid of two in one stroke. When the person who was using the lightning approached the pudgy man, I was not prepared.

I almost fell out of my hiding place at the sight of Jaden, his face full of a rage I'd never suspected in him before.

"I get to go free. Now give me my lightsaber," he snarled.

"Too bad, I let this go too far." The man lifted his gun, and I dropped out of my hiding place and swiped through him. There was an unreadable expression on Jaden's face as he looked down at the man, and then he looked up at me, relieved to see me.

"I had it all under control, you know," he said.

I shrugged. "I figured you needed rescuing, so I did it myself. Sue me."

"Well, thanks," he said as he bent over and picked up his lightsaber and gun. "Need me to give you a lift back to your ship."

"That would be appreciated," I admitted. "I guess you didn't need saving after all."

"Oh, I needed it," he said. "I'd rather not know what would've happened." He then raced down to his Z-95 Headhunter, the _Far Wanderer_. I hopped in the second seat, and waited as he hovered over the ravine.

"That's my ride," I admitted, getting ready to jump ship. Jaden placed a hand over my wrist before I could unbuckle my restraints.

"Thanks Elle. It was sweet of you to care," he said. Something in me was electrified by those blue eyes.

"Any time, Jay," I said with a weak smile, and I unbuckled my restraints and jumped out onto my ship. He took off, and I got adjusted in the cockpit.

* * *

Back on Yavin IV, I was repairing the _Jakku's Rain_ since it got damaged from the landing and from some Remnant guns that had fired at me when we'd left. I wondered why I felt like I needed to go after him then. Was it just because we were friends?

"Hey, Elle," I heard him say. I sat up, forgetting I was under the wing of the _Jakku's Rain,_ and I hit my head on it.

"Ouch," I muttered as I slid out.

"Sorry," he said as he offered me a hand. I accepted it without thinking. I got to my feet as my astromech, Red, let out a series of chirps and whistles.

"Oh shut up, you rust-bucket," I snapped, but rust-bucket being teasing. I got some whistles back, but I didn't care. Jaden chuckled at that. I miss hearing him laugh. He doesn't anymore, not the kind of laugh he gave then. Warm and full of light. It's cold, now, and short. Sorry, let me get back on topic.

"Need something?" I'd asked as I leaned against my ship in attempt to save face.

"Not really, I just thought I'd thank you," he said as he put an arm up against the ship and leaned against it. His golden bangs fell into his blue eyes, and he swiped them away, giving me a fresh look at the eyes that started something in my heart.

I blushed and crossed my arms over my chest in some sort of defense.

"Well, it's like you said back there, you didn't really need my help. Because you're Mr. Perfect and all," I said with some resentment. I looked down at my beat-up boots.

"Hey, you did keep me from getting a bullet through my chest, and that's nicer than using some risky technique with the Force to keep me alive until someone comes along and patches me up," he said. "I can appreciate that. Besides, I'm far from perfect, just Jaden, remember."

"It's hard to remember when you're good at everything in this academy," I admitted dryly as my eyes returned to his. It was almost painful to keep eye contact, but I wanted to still look into those eyes forever.

"Okay, maybe I'm good at fighting and the Force," he admitted. "But remember, Elle, how you're better at some stuff than I am? You know so much, and you really can repair stuff. I still have no clue how your astromech is still going with all that rust."

"Oh, Red?" I asked. "He's an old droid, and sand gets everywhere, but since I managed to rearrange the system a little, he's holding out much longer than other droids. I'm going to have to get a new one soon, but I'm going to transfer the personality chip over. He's my little pet."

"Really?" He asked. "I never had a pet growing up."

"You were a Coruscant city boy. Where on that planet would you keep a pet?" I shot back.

"Good point," he conceded with another laugh. "Sorry, just, it's weird, seeing you get all jealous, especially when I sometimes get a little jealous of you."

"Of me?" I snorted. "I'm just a plain girl who happens to be lucky. That's really it."

"I don't think you're plain," he said as he reached a hand out for my hair and tugged a red strand. My heart skipped a beat. "I think you're actually kinda pretty."

Heat rose to my cheeks as our faces drew closer and closer as adrenaline rushed through our veins. Red then chirped loudly, and both of us jumped. I hit my head on the ship again.

"Ow!" I cried, holding the spot. "Sorry, I'd better get back to repairing."

"Yeah," he agreed, his face now as red as the Sith's lightsabers as he stumbled away.

I turned to Red. "Thanks a lot, rust-bucket."

He whistled and rolled away to continue repairs on the _Jakku's Rain._

* * *

Later on, it was the night that we were studying for the Academy exams on history and diplomacy. Particularly the old Republic, over three-thousand years ago. I chose to stay in the bunks while the other students threw a study party, emphasis on the party.

I went through my battered data pad for the notes on Darth Revan when Jaden came in and dramatically flopped onto the bunk below what was once Rosh's. He groaned and pulled out his data pad.

"Trouble in paradise?" I asked with a smirk.

"Remind me to never attend Raltharan's study parties ever again," he groaned.

"Did they get the drinks out?" I asked, amused.

"That's why I left," Jaden admitted. "That, and it's an hour until lights out and I can't remember any of this stuff."

I chuckled. "Sounds like Mr. Perfect has finally met his match."

"Don't call me that, please," he groaned as he rubbed his eyes. "Just help me with this."

I pretended to ponder it. "And what do I get?" I asked teasingly.

"Whatever you want! Just help me!" Jaden begged.

"I don't know, I think-"

"PLEASE!" He looked very distraught. I dropped the joke.

"Okay, what do you have problems remembering?" I asked.

"The Exile's real name, if Revan was a man or a woman, if Atton Rand died on Malachor V or not, or if Zaalbar owed a life debt to Revan or Mission Vao," he said.

"That's not too bad," I admitted. "No one really remembers whether Revan was male or female. According to accounts, Revan was androgynous and everyone was too scared to ask. However, seeing as Revan married Bastila Shan and they had a kid, I think it's safe to say male."

"Revan's a dude, got it," Jaden said. "What about the rest?"

"Mission Vao and Zaalbar were friends, but Zaalbar owed a life debt to Revan," I explained. "No one's clear on Atton Rand's fate. Some say that he died on Malachor V, some say he helped recreate the Jedi Council, others say that he joined the Exile on her quest to find Revan. She was Meetra Surik, by the way."

"Zaalabar owes Revan, no one knows, and Meetra Surik," he repeated, and then he sighed. "I think that does it. I should pass, hopefully. Can I borrow your notes?" I nodded. "Thanks, Elle, you're a lifesaver."

"Glad I can help the Great and Mighty Jaden Korr," I mumbled as I handed him my notes and quizzed myself. I felt his eyes on me, but didn't say anything until it felt like too long.

"What?" I asked.

"I just noticed how your hair looks when it's not in that ponytail," he admitted.

"I know it's a mess," I huffed. "That's why I tie it back."

"Never said it looked bad," he said as he raised his eyebrows.

That shocked me into silence for a few moments.

"Thanks, then," I said.

"No problem," he replied. "So, what favor do I owe you?"

"Oh, Jaden, I was joking," I said.

"No, I do owe you one," he said.

"You don't have to," I protested.

"I want to," he insisted.

I threw my hands up. "Why do you Jedi boys have to be so noble and chivalrous?"

"It's just our nature," he said.

"Rosh wasn't," I pointed out. We both went quiet. Rosh could be annoying, but we missed him.

"Still, I want to do you a favor, so what do you want?" He asked.

"Still, I don't _want_ one," I said, now a little irritated.

A smirk curled up his face. "A surprise then," he said. "Trust me, Elle, you're going to like this."

"Oh no," I groaned and I used my pillow to facepalm.

"You'll find out tomorrow, after the exams," he promised, and then we studied in peace until the tipsy students tumbled in.

* * *

Afterwards, I walked out of the room, mostly confident that I'd done well. I was heading to the canteen when Jaden joined me from the other rooms.

"How'd your exams go?" I asked him.

"Great, thanks to you," he said cheerfully. "How were yours?"

"Good, hopefully," I said. "I've got a good feeling."

"That's promising," he agreed. "I guess I have a favor I owe you."

"Yes," I said, growing a little uneasy. "You said I'm going to like this?"

"You are, you could use it," He said, and he cupped my chin in his fingers and kissed me, right in the middle of the hallway, with all the students watching. When he broke away, he smirked and drifted into the crowd so I couldn't spot him.

I went to find him near the canteen doors.

"Hey," I said, feeling somewhat shy.

"So how was it?" He asked, maintaining his cool a lot better than I was.

"You were right," I admitted as I blushed. "You have a lot of talent there, too."

His face went red, but the corners of his lips turned into a smile. We broke into a second one.


End file.
